Obergefell v Hodges Challenged

I’m sitting in my room now, hunched over my laptop, premature grief hanging thick in the air. Half dried tears stain my cheeks and salt lingers on my eyelashes. I’ve just read the headlines- among other shocking events, Obergefell v Hodges is under siege. After less than a decade of having the right to marry, to be seen, that privilege is slipping like sand through calloused fingers. This, along with transgender rights, women’s bodies, gasping forests and polluted waters, and the hands that built this country but were never welcomed to stay, crowd the chopping block. 8 days into Trump’s tyranny and he’s already picking at America’s scars, reopening them, blood gushing into the nation’s streets. Exactly where I’d predicted we might end up. Whatever happened to the crowds mindlessly chanting, “Make America Great Again”? Their words leave an aftertaste of metal and rust on my tongue, enough to make me grimace. Great to whom? The only thing I see happening in this country is one minority after another being taken out back and shot. I just want to be able to marry the woman I love one day; to be able to stand at the altar, hand in hand, without fear that a lawmaker’s hateful whim might steal the promise from our lips. Is that too much to ask?

23:25, January 28, 2025.